The Dallas daily herald. [volume] (Dallas, Tex.) 1873-1887, 1887-01-20
Curiosities of Ice.

CurlOSlCl6S Oh lCo.
Some years ago, neighbor brought
to the writer's study cake of ice which
he had cut from water pail. It's top
was like all such pieces of ice, but it
had horn of ice growing from it, and
turning it over, the under side showed
that the horn was hollow, and was filled
with water when the cake was formed.
1t was brought rs a 'freak OF nature, "
but a careful examination showed how
the horn was formed. The pail of wat
err stood in n chair near stove while
the horn pointed directly toward a
small hole in the wall opposite. A cur
rent of air had swept across the pail and
so weakened the ice at that point, and in
expanding had burst at it's weakest
point
Ice is crystal, or better, great
mass of crystals. The little bits of ice
grow together in one definite form,
that Of the six pointed star. A com.
plete crystal is a beautiful star. But
most crystals are very incomplete, be-
ing broken up, or else several frozen
toge .her In a single mass. The form
of these crystals can be readily seen by
looking at pane of glass on frosty
morning, or by catching a few large
flakOs upon fur collar.
Now. snow crystals are not simply
masses of water frozen-they are much
less solid. They are formed when vapor
condcnses in the upper regions of air,
muck as dew is formed upon the earth's
surface. and they are frozen directly
from the vapor. Many reasons tend to
show that all tho light, fleecy clouds,
seen at great heights, consist of these
snow masses still floating in the air.
So if any cold object is placed before
the vapor, mass of snow forms upon
it. A board fence before an engines
escape pipe on cold day soon becomes
coated with snow or frost, and the
layer grows as long as it continues
cold. The ice often forms long spikes,
all pointing toward the escaping steam
and growing towards it, Such masses
of ice formed upon posts and stones on
top of Mount Washington, in New
Hampshire, s,me years since. four feet
long. A strong northwest wind was
blowing at the time, and the air was
remarkably damp. Sooa after it COM
menced, every object became coated
with ice, and on all the more promi-
nent points it continued to grow for
two days.
The beautiful coatings of ice which
cover tress and bushes IN the winter
are formed in nearly the same way.
They come when the bushes and trees
are cold, while the air is little warm
or and full of moisture. Then the
branches and twigs quickly coat the
frost often accommodating until the tree
carries load of tons. Thousands of
forest and ornamental tr ees were brok-
en- last spring, in the Eastern States by
such load of ice. TIL ough called an
ice storm, it differed from many other
storms only in its greater severity and
longer duration.
Perhaps, the greatest curiosity in the
way of ice formation ever known was
the loading of the telegraph wires in
Siberia few winters ago. Such an ice
storm occurred there, and the wires
were all coated Then rain followed,
and long icicles were formed. hanging
from the wires. Soon the sun came
out and melted the ice on the top Of the
wires. making the icicles all point up
wards like the teeth of n comb. Then
the ice froze to the wires, and there ii
remained for several days, until finally
a strong wind shook the ice OF. All
these curious forms result from differ
ent conditions Of condensation. La
n. u n-.A.. a. IN. n.s.~<s.l